Page 35 of The Maestro's Mates
“Although they aren’t quite as active as my chaos spirits, each bond has a personality. Most witches can sense those bonds, but my mother can manipulate them.”
“That's why what Veronica is tryingto do is so difficult,” Linda said. “She has managed to weaken the mother-daughter bond between us, but she can’t break it entirely. Because of that, it’s very hard for her to come against me. And even so…it was fucking close. Her witches were boosting her power. I was taken by surprise, and she almost took me out.”
Justin breathed and sipped the warm, aromatic tea. This was so much more complicated than he had expected. At its core, this was a family spat. Freddie and Anthony had lent their approval to an alliance, and it would be advantageous, but what were they getting into?
And what washegetting into? Sebastian was…unpredictable, and his family and the Circle had their own pragmatic way of doing things. Ruthless. He’d been telling the truth when he’d said he was willing to try, to consider mating with Sebastian and Pavel. But after the disaster of his romantic history, instead of wading into the shallow end, this felt like jumping into a damn waterspout.
He leaned forward, steeling himself and banishing thoughts of his two mates. He was here today to represent his coven.
“Whatexactlydo you need from us?”
For a moment, he thought Linda was going to roll her eyes again, but instead she opened her mouth to speak. Then she immediately closed it, and her eyes became unfocused for a few seconds.
“That was the spirit I sent,” she said as she snapped to the present. “You were right. Veronica inserted loopholes into the wards long before she left. Years before. When she was a teenager.”
Linda stood, slamming down her cup on the mantle and spilling tea over the top of it.
“Dammit! Fine. What we need is security. We need people here to stand guard, to keep watch. She’d never imagine we’d ally with vampires, or allow them inside the house. I have to keep her off guard, and your covenmates are fighters in a way we witches could never be.”
Justin pressed his lips together, nodding slowly, then glanced at Sebastian. The look on Sebastian’s face told him everything. He was worried, and his mother was worried, and these were people not accustomed to being worried. Justin scoffed internally. He had enough anxiety on his own; maybe they could take some of it off his hands.
“I believe Freddie is willing,” Justin said. “You’ll need to speak with him directly. I can arrange a meeting somewhere neutral. If you are worried your daughter will be back soon, we should act quickly.”
“She won’t be back tomorrow, or perhaps even within the next week or two, but she’ll return as soon as she can gather more power.” Linda grimaced. “I worry about what she’s willing to do to take the Circle.”
Justin couldn’t hold back the question any longer. Linda had not given him the most important piece of information, the one that would make any of this make sense.
“Whyis she doing this? Why is your daughter trying to take your place?”
“Because she’s an insolent little bitch!” Linda was shaking now, her voice pouring out in a hoarse shout.
“Mother. Stop.” Sebastian stepped forward, trying to put his hands on her shoulders, but she shrugged him off. She walked to the ancient grimoire on the other side of the room, gently running her hand over the cover, her fingers finding the grooves of the engraved lettering.
Sebastian sat in her recently vacated chair.
“Veronica believes my mother is too isolationist,” he said, sadness painted across his face. “That she’s too stuck in the old ways, that she hoards secrets. And…Vee’s not wrong. Mother is very protective. But there are dangers in that grimoire, in many of the books in this room. There are dangers in my mother’s memory, in the knowledge accumulated over the years.”
“And she’s a fucking idiot!” Linda barked, not looking up from the book.
“No. She’s not. And she’s not the only one to blame.”
Linda grumbled but didn’t answer. Justin studied Sebastian’s face, which showed annoyance but also real concern.
“Why not?”
Sebastian indicated to his mother with a shake of his head. “Linda here has some control issues. And this never would have gotten this far if she’d been more transparent with Vee about the reasons for some of her actions, rather than expecting blind obedience.”
“Our traditions are traditions for a reason,” Linda said.
Sebastian sighed. “Veronica isn’t unreasonable. Or at least, she wasn’t. But then she left, and in the time since she’s been gone, she’s become obsessed with ousting my mother. She’s certain Linda’s keeping some kind of huge source of power from her.”
“Well, is she?” Justin asked. Sebastian didn’t say anything, and Justin thought he saw a tiny wisp of guilt pass over Sebastian’s face. Justin turned to Linda.
“Are you?”
“No! Well, not exactly.” For the first time, Linda sounded uncertain. “There isn’t some talisman or amulet or something able to power bigger and better spells. It’s more the combined weight of all the knowledge. Youcanend up withmore magical energy at your disposal. But it’s not some kind of quick fix. It takes years of study.”
“Which she might have been willing to do, if you hadn’t shut her out.” Sebastian’s eyes flashed, and Justin could tell this was a point of contention for them.
